PhD Candidate
Research Title:
Risk-targeted seismic design of buckling-restrained braced frame buildings
Main Supervisor:
Reagan Chandramohan
Co-supervisor:
Timothy J. Sullivan
Research interests:
Meet PhD student Saiteja Sistla from Hyderabad, India. Teja's interest in earthquake engineering was piqued during his master's at BITS Pilani, India. His thesis focused on retrofitting non-ductile reinforced concrete buildings with affordable base isolation systems, attempting to address the growing need for low-cost seismic protection systems.
Under the guidance of Dr. Reagan Chandramohan and Professor Timothy J. Sullivan at UC, Teja’s research addressed several pressing challenges in the seismic design, analysis, and performance assessment of buckling-restrained braced frame (BRBF) buildings. He developed and employed novel large-scale numerical modelling strategies to identify design methods for mitigating gusset plate buckling of buckling-restrained braces, a novel statistical framework for seismic loss assessment, tools for predicting seismic demands on BRBF buildings, and a novel collapse risk-targeted seismic design framework.
Personal interests:
Apart from conducting research, Teja is passionate about sharing his knowledge and learnings. He delivered lectures on nonlinear structural analysis, performance-based earthquake engineering, and seismic loss assessment at several universities in India. Additionally, he presented a lecture titled 'Structural Response Modelling Using OpenSees and Parallel Computing' at the 2024 QCAM workshop, 'Harnessing Computational Science for Earthquake Resilience.
During his PhD, Teja also worked as a casual consultant for the Seismic Risk Working Group, focusing on improving the simplified analysis methods in TS 1170.5: Structural Design Actions – Part 5: Seismic Actions. He recently submitted his thesis and is currently working as an apprentice lecturer, teaching assistant, and part-time research associate.
During his leisure hours, Teja takes pleasure in playing football, hiking, swimming, and experimenting with cooking.
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saiteja-sistla/
Academic and professional history
Research associate, University of Canterbury, 2025-present
Casual consultant, Seismic Risk Working Group, 2024-present
Doctoral Candidate, University of Canterbury: 2021-2025
Master of Civil and Structural Engineering, BITS Pilani Hyderabad: 2018-2020
Research intern, National Geophysics research institute: 2019
Bachelor of Science, SRM Institute of science and technology: 2014-2018
Publications and conference
1. Journal paper | S. Sistla, Mohan S C, “Parametric Studies and Application of Fiber Reinforced Elastomeric Isolators to Low-Rise Buildings” (Link)
2. Conference paper | S. Sistla, Kalyana Rama J S, “Evaluating the performance of nature inspired algorithms using 52-bar steel truss subjected to dynamic load”, Materials Today: Proceedings,2020,ISSN 2214-7853 (Link)
3. Conference paper | S. Sistla, Mohan S C, “Numerical modelling of bonded and unbonded flax fiber reinforced elastomeric isolator and their application to RC building”, Materials Today: Proceedings,2020,ISSN 2214-7853 (Link)
4. Conference paper | Sandesh Reddy G Y, S. Sistla, Panigrahi B, “Experimental and numerical study on dynamic analysis of cracked glass epoxy composite beam”, Materials Today: Proceedings, 2020, ISSN 2214-7853 (Link)
5. Conference paper | S. Sistla, R. Chandramohan & T.J. Sullivan, “Modelling the out-of-plane buckling behavior of BRBFs”, NZSEE 2022 (Link)
6. Conference paper | S. Sistla, R. Chandramohan & T.J. Sullivan, “Collapse risk assessment of a BRBF building considering the out-of-plane buckling of gusset plates and brace end-zones”, PCEE 2023 (Conference to be held in Vancouver, Canada)
7. Poster | S. Sistla, R. Chandramohan & T.J. Sullivan, “Benchmarking the seismic performance of a code conforming BRBF building”, QCAM 2022.
8. Poster | S. Sistla, R. Chandramohan & T.J. Sullivan, “Loss-oriented hazard-consistent incremental dynamic analysis”, QCAM 2024.
Patent
201941012831 A| Poornima T, S. Sistla, Srinath V, Pradeep S, “A sand cementitious composition and its use for preparing a ferro-cement article”
Articles about Teja
New Guidelines for Buckling-restrained Braced Frames | University of Canterbury
QuakeCoRE Community Winners of 2024 NZSEE Awards - Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCoRE
